Marvelous Marvel still showing at the St. Croix County Fair at 100 years young

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By Missy Klatt

BALDWIN — Marvel Gregerson, 100, of Bladwin has had great success showing at the St. Croix County Fair for many years. Marvel who grew up in the Baldwin-Woodville area and in fact has lived in the area all her life, first showed at the fair when she was ten years old. At that time the fair was held in Hammond. She said she took a dress and a stuffed toy that she made. Unfortunately this was during the depression and her family moved around a lot so this was the only time she competed at the fair as a child. 

When her children, Marvel is the mother of five boys, started bring cattle to the fair in the 1950s she thought they had to be there anyway so why not bring some of her own things to the fair. This was the start of her long successful career of showing at the St. Croix County Fair.

Marvel and her late husband, Keith, of 70 years, first met when she was in the third grade and Keith was in the sixth at the East Baldwin School in 1934. Together they farmed for many years between Baldwin and Woodville. Later they owned the Dairy Queen that was in (downtown) Baldwin for eight years. They also owned the mens clothing shop for a short time and Keith also drove school bus for many years. Marvel, a hard worker held various jobs, including working at the Baldwin clinic for a while before they bought the Dairy Queen. When they had the Dairy Queen, Marvel also worked in the jewelry store in town during the winter. Later she worked as a secretary in the principal’s office at the high school.

Marvel, of late is known for award winning quilts however she didn’t bring her first quilt to the fair until about 1987. She mentioned that she started it in 1940 while in high school but it sat there all those years until she retired and finished it in the late 80s. 

Some of her first fair entries were baked goods. In the late 1950s she earned grand champion ribbons for her white bread in the King Midas Flour competition. The award also came with a cash prize of $50.00. She won three years in a row (the most you were allowed to win, after that she brought whole wheat bread). Besides this honor she was featured (with her photo) in an ad for King Midas Flour that also featured her award winning recipe. The recipe is as follows:

Mrs. Gregerson’s White Bread

Temperature and baking time:      

375° – 15 minutes

350° – 40 minutes

2 tsp. Sugar

½ cup lukewarm water

2 pkgs. Dry yeast

4 cups luke warm water

¼ cup sugar

6 cups King Midas All-Purpose Flour

¾ cup non-fat dry milk solid

2tbsp. Salt

¼ cup lard, melted

5 ½ cups King Midas All-Purpose Flour

Mix together the 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ cup lukewarm water and dry yeast. Let stand 10 minutes.

Add to this mixture the 4 cups luke warm water, ¼ cup sugar, 6 cups flour and ¾ dry milk solid. Beat with electric mixer.

Add the salt, lard and 5 ½ cups flour. Mix together. Let rest 15 or 20 minutes. Knead.

Let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Punch down dough. Let rise again until doubled in bulk.

Shape into 4 loaves. Place in well-greased pans. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake. 

Marvel even demonstrated how to make the bread one time at the fair.

Over the years Marvel has brought a variety of items to show at the fair and had success with many of them. Some of the items include crocheted and knitted items, doll clothes, and oil paintings that now adorn her apartment walls. In 1998, she received a grand champion on one of her oil paintings that features an elk. As for her quilts and other quilted items (table cloths, table runners, tree skirts and the like), Marvel hand quilted everything until just recently.

 In the July/August 2002 issue of Country Women Magazine, Marvel had one of her quilt patterns featured with a two page spread that included all the instructions and a picture of the finished quilt. The article was titled “Pretty Patchwork Makes Any Space Blossom.” Marvel actually had to send her quilt into the magazine so they could get photos of it. Marvel was a little leary about sending it in but it was returned unscathed.

Marvel picked up sewing from her mom, who used to sew all of Marvel’s clothes. As for learning how to quilt Marvel quips, “I just taught myself, I guess.” Marvel joined the local Quilting Guild, the Windmill Piece Makers, 25 years ago.

She goes on to tell the story of how she made the king size quilt that currently adorns her bed when she was 95 years old. She was living where she lives now in a senior citizen complex and she commented that she didn’t have room to lay out all her quilt pieces in her apartment, “so I waited for everyone to be in their rooms at night and I took it out to the dining room and laid the blocks on the floor. One hundred and twenty blocks.” That way she could see to arrange them all.

Besides quilting, Marvel enjoys reading and tending to her many house plants and flowers out in front of her apartment.

Although I didn’t get an exact count on how many quilts she’s taken to the St. Croix County Fair over the years, Marvel has several photo albums with photos of her creations, including one smaller album that just has photos of her grand champions. It that one she has some details about the quilt as to when she started it and when she finished and if she gave it to someone there was more than likely a photo of the quilt with the recipient in there as well.

 Besides five sons, Marvel has 13 grandchildren and her 15th great grandchild was just recently born. Most of these family members have at one time been gifted with one of Marvel’s quilts or table cloths, table runners, etc. 

Cindy Van Dyk, a current St. Croix County Fair board member, recalls that Marvel and her husband would volunteer to do security for the open class building the evening of the quilt judging. Marvel claimed it was because she could see everyone that was at the fair and she didn’t have to do all the walking around the fairgrounds. Cindy states that she was also the force behind hanging the quilts after judging and making sure they were hung just right.

This year’s fair entry was a table runner that took honorable mention. On the back of her entry tag Marvel had noted that this would probably be her last quilt however she confesses that she has already cut out some fabric pieces for her next project.

As I was leaving Marvel commented about the article, “just don’t make it too braggy.” Braggy or not Marvel has a lot to be proud of with all her award winning quilts and other fair entries over the years. Hopefully she will be able to continue the tradition for many years to come.